A Preparedness Guide for Women: How To Handle Birth Control After The SHTF (Part 2)

Because women have different needs than men, when we prepare for a SHTF scenario, we must consider those needs. In this second part of our “Prepping as a Woman” series, we will discuss birth control and how to deal with pregnancy prevention during a catastrophe.

Because women have different needs than men, when we prepare for a SHTF scenario, we must consider those needs. In the first part of our “Prepping as a Woman” series, we discussed how to prepare for women-related needs in a long-term emergency. In the second part of this series, we will expound on that and discuss birth control and how to deal with pregnancy prevention during a catastrophe.

Let’s get right into another controversial, uncomfortable, but necessary topic for female preppers:

BIRTH CONTROL

The obvious answer is this problem is to stockpile prophylactics like condoms. But these have a shelf life and become less effective with age, so having a stockpile of 20-year-old condoms won’t do you a whole lot of good! Another option that isn’t as easy seems like it would be oh-so-simple on the surface. Just stock up on contraceptives. However, most contraceptives are only available by prescription and that makes it almost impossible to stockpile. Not only that, you will run into the same problem as you do with stockpiling condoms – if you do manage to store a year’s worth of birth control pills, their effectiveness will lessen as time goes on eventually making you vulnerable to pregnancy.

That doesn’t mean if you CAN store some pills and condoms that you shouldn’t, you definitely could and if it eases your mind, go for it! But you should also consider using another method to protect yourself when using older birth control pills, or when those condoms run out or expire. Fortunately, there is a natural way to prevent pregnancy that could be useful during an apocalyptic event – whether you’ve stockpiled contraceptives or not.

NOTE: This advice is for the female preppers who have a partner and are looking to avoid pregnancy during and after the SHTF. This guide could also possibly be useful to those looking for a more natural way to prevent pregnancy as opposed to taking a pill every day.

The easiest way to use a natural birth control method may be the “thermometer” method. As far as we know, thermometers can be stockpiled pretty easily! (I only say that because I am really good at dropping and breaking things and having a backup or two might be a good idea if you are as clumsy as I am.) And, all joking aside, many women do use this as their only method of birth control choosing to go fully natural and stay away from the hormone-altering contraceptives.

The thermometer method (also often called the BBT or Basal Body Temperature method) works by using the temperature of your body upon waking in the morning. It’s important to take your temperature at the same time every day, and right when you wake up for the utmost accuracy. Don’t check your phone first or get up to use to the bathroom. Hold it for a few seconds so you can get an accurate reading if at all possible. The better you are at taking your temperature at the same time before doing ANYTHING else, the more accurate you will be and the more effective this method becomes.

After taking your temperature, you need to record it on a chart. You can buy some charts, print some for free off the internet, make your own, or use a smartphone app. (Obviously, you’ll want to know how to track your cycle on paper too and have extra charts available in case there is no way to power your smartphone.) There are books available to help you understand where to begin and how to read your charts. [Click here for free printable charts]

The changes in your temperature will be really small, tenths of a degree, in fact, so get a special large-scale basal thermometer. Some basal thermometers are used in your mouth, and others are used in your rectum (butt). Rectal thermometers are usually more accurate and reliable however they are also more uncomfortable and take longer to clean. You’ll need to take extra care to disinfect a rectal thermometer, so bear that in mind.

Source: Fertility Friend

The basic idea is to find out when you ovulate and avoid sexual intercourse during those days to prevent pregnancy. This method is incredibly accurate if you can learn it, use it religiously, and get really in tune with your body and your charts. If you want to implement this birth control method, it is suggested that you wait for three months before going off contraceptives just to make sure you have 3 charts to reference. The more you can learn about your own body, the better and more effective this method becomes. It does get easier too, so don’t freak out if your first few weeks are rough.

BIRTH CONTROL DEVICES

This one is pretty simple – we just aren’t going to suggest any of these for the female prepper. Internal Uterine Devices (IUDs) fall into this category. They could work and be effective, but they need to be administered and removed by a doctor which isn’t helpful during a catastrophe or shortage of doctors. They also come with side effects and complications that could make your life miserable without a SHTF situation taking place. If you decide one of these is right for you, do your research and understand the possibilities, risks, and effectiveness.

The thermometer method has zero side effects (unless you eat the thermometer, please don’t) and for that reason, we will stick with that as our suggestion.

Learning how to naturally provide birth control for yourself could be an invaluable tool! You will still be able to be intimate with your husband or partner while having some peace of mind during a highly stressful situation. This is TRUELY the essence of prepping because you need to learn how to use this method before things go bad and implement the system beforehand to make sure it’s effective and will work for you!

As female preppers, we can do anything! If you are a female prepper and have any advice about birth control after the SHTF, please let your fellow women preppers know in the comments!

*Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes ONLY! This article should not be misconstrued to be a political or religious statement of any kind. This is simply a guide for women who would like to prevent pregnancy during an apocalyptic situation or use a natural pregnancy prevention method currently.

This article was originally published at Ready Nutrition™ on May 13th, 2019

3 Comments

emmer
on May 14, 2019 at 10:15 am

diaphragms may have a lower conception rate than bbt and should also be considered. a diaphragm should last several years. these are usually used in conjunction with a cream spermicide, which does have a shelf life.
given the likely problems of pregnancy during a long term disaster, perhaps bbt, diaphragm, withdrawal, herbal medicines, abstinence, and anything else you can think of should be considered.

The Billings method should also be learned in conjunction with calendar. It involves watching your cervical fluid consistency and the placement and softness of the cervix. As ovulation approaches, the cervix goes up and back and becomes much softer. Usually when nonfertile it will feel like a knob and be fairly close to the front. It will go back further and further and soften up as ovulation approaches. At the same time the cervical fluid is changing in consistency. As the cycle progresses and gets closer to ovulation the cervical fluid will become more plentiful and become more creamy and eventually when ovulation is imminent, it will be clear or opalescent and a stretchy slippery egg white consistency. At that point the cervix will be soft and far back and might be so soft and so far back it cannot even be able to be found when reaching in to do a cervical check (yourself or your partner). At that point ovulation is probably happening. Desire may be highest for the woman and her partner’d desire will most likely be strongest for her at that time (and also any males she comes across – beware!) Pheremones also come into play, some men can pick up the scent, others only do subconciously, but that is also a factor. Studies have shown with a photo taken every day of a cycle that a woman is at her most beautiful when she is most fertile, it has to do with the quality of the skin, fluid retention, hormones etc B boobs most perky, skin luminous, supple, and firm/plumped out, figure most curvy, etc. she will look her most healthy young and desireable. Women working with the public find they get most sexual harrassment, the biggest tips, etc during that time. It is best to be aware of this and maybe stay home or lay low for a few days each month especially in a lawless environment. Rape is terrible, but rape followed by pregnancy in a situation of limited or no medical help, is even worse.

Once the egg white fluid stage has passed and the cervix has become more firm again and lower, ovulation has passed and there will be about 2 weeks of no-risk time until bleeding commences (Day 1 of cycle). Women bleed 14-15 days after ovulation, so the timing that is variable is at the beginning. A woman with a 24 day cycle ovulates around day 9, but a woman with a 33 day cycle ovulates around day 19. It is good to track your cycle for several months, even with just a calendar, to get a feel for cycle length. My cycles used to be around 32 days but in the last year or two shortened dramatically to around 25 days (could be perimenopause, or it could be effects of an ill-advised adventure with a progesterone birth control pill, or both). Get used to what “your normal” is as far as cycle length and if you track it for 4 or 6 months you will know what your normal is and following the signs listed above can be fairly sure you know where you are at any given time, even if you have broken or disrupted sleep, are traveling, have heat fluctuations in your residence, etc.
Dollar store has ovulation predictors for a dollar apiece and if you want to be sure you are pinpointing it accurately, you can use them when you know you are probably getting close and want to pinpoint.

You want to give 2 DAYS after ovulation for the fertility window to close. If you jump the gun and don’t wait long enough, the egg is already disintegrating at the point it gets fertilized. This can lead to a child with lifelong disabilities.

Withdrawl method is far more effective than your health teacher led you to believe. Most couples can practice it successfully. Some men who have been circumcised have less control and awareness of their body due to lost nerves, etc. (never cut a male’s parts, they aren’t born broke, so don’t “fix” it. http://www.sexasnatureintendedit.com) and can ejaculate unexpectedly, but most men can practice withdrawl successfully. Withdrawl during fertile time and possibly a douche with an acid (a little vinegar, etc) if paranoid about sperm exposure during the most fertile time, can be enough to prevent pregnancy for years. Once the fertile window is closed each cycle, every woman has 2 wks of no pregnancy worry.

There are fertility monitors available, apps, etc. It is good to use them now to learn how to read your body. Then when electricity, supplies, etc are not available you will have learned enough to be confident with other methods.

It is important to know the cervical positioning and fluid signs as well as temperature because the temperature a woman sleeps in can vary, especially if she is traveling, using wood heat, gets a fever, etc.

There is a book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler that should be purchased by anyone wanting to learn FAM / NFP (fertility awareness method, natural family planning) along with several glass basal thermometers. If you are lucky enough to have a safe place you sleep in every night with a well-controlled heat source, you can use temperature tracking, but need to learn the other symptoms and signs as well, and it wouldn’t hurt to stock up on dollar store ovulation predictors as well as vitamin C tablets (to prevent implantation, both used as a douche, followed by a half tab inserted just to dissolve slowly and create a higher vaginal Ph, and also high doses taken internally can prevent implantation in an emergency).

The diaphragm can help but it’s still best to avoid ejaculation within the vagina during the most fertile time. A diaphragm can be made out of a variety of materials including beeswax, etc. It’s good to get one from doctor now, and later can use it as a template for size to fashion one. Things like tomato, lemon, etc can be used for one -n-done diaphragm but they have to fit. Women can have cervixes that vary in size anywhere from a couple inches to the size of a small saucer, depending on their own body design, pregnancy history, etc. so one size does not fit all.

Amazon has levonorgesterel for $10 a pop, that’s the morning after pill, with no prescription. You obviously don’t want to waste all of them unnecessarily nor do you want to overload your system with hormones you might not need which will throw off your cycle and make it more difficult to track for weeks. It’s good to stock up on a few of these as well as learn all the other signs so you know when it would be wise to use one and when you won’t need to.

Every woman should also study the herbs used by people in the past both her own people and other peoples, and learn what grows in her area or can be grown in her area. Anyone lucky enough to be somewhere they can grow cotton, is safe.
There are some herbs that can end pregnancy but also cause kidney or liver failure or blindness, so beware.